While the title of this article may sounds sarcastic to your ears. It was the reason the Formula Classic Championship got canned after the second race at Donington park. Tom Wheatcroft came up with the idea of a Championship that echoed the best of Pre-War Grand Prix cars. All the cars on the grid would be identical to each other. Eventually, the car that appeared on the grid echoed the good old 1950s with it cigar shaped chassis and thin tyres. The championships Achilles heel would be the Holbay engines.
This all started the 1st of April 1993 with a small article in Autosport; nope this was not a joke as many at that time seemed it was. At that time, it was believed and also announced that the Formula Classic would launched during the European Grand Prix at Donington. Indeed one of the cars, at that time still a prototype, took party in the classic car parade on Sunday before the start of the Grand Prix. Driven by Peter Davies who also designed and build the Maserati F250 like car at his engineering company ARTEC situated in Corby.
The Reynard originated chassis was in first instance to be powered by the Lotus Biturbo engine. However, during the parade it was powered by the Vauxhall Twin-Turbocharged V6 engine good for 377HP. Sneak peak, this would not be the engine eventually. The plan was to launch the Championship in 1994 around European circuits. This all to have the fans and drivers experience the atmosphere and breathe a bit of the air of the past. The past that was so dangerous though the same time wonderful. The idea was to have top drivers battling and wrestling each other with these spectacular looking Pre-War era cars. You might say it was the perfect way to see “Historic Racing “in it’s heydays. As Historic Races were held massively at that time, they were not close racing each other.
It seems that after the “reveal” of the Formula Classic there was somewhat of a void, no news seemed too be available. This changed in October 1994 when an article revealed that Wheatcroft was seriously thinking about bringing the action on the circuits around Europe. In the period of silence, the car was continued developing. Willie Green did a lot of “testing” with the car; he said that he enjoyed racing the car.
The car that resembled the Maserati F250, and was fitted with 1950s narrow wheels. While the car was fitted first with the Vauxhall engine, the car would eventually be fitted with a 2,5l Holbay-Tuned engine. This engine would produce 280HP while the lack of aerodynamics would allow drivers to power slide and drift away with the car. Well that same engine would eventually be the reason why the championship would be canned.
The 9th of October 1994 Tom Wheatcroft announced at Donington that his Formula Classic Championship would happen in 1995. Some of the idea’s came on the surface. In it’s firs year the championship would run during six meetings, with two races at each. The races would be held at Zolder, Zandvoort, Paul Ricard, Nurburgring, Nogaro and Donington. However, there are also circuits named as Brno and the A1-Ring where two races would be held in Zandvoort and the final race would be the 22nd of October 1995 at Donington.
A maximum of 34 were said to be built eventually while a maximum of 26 cars were to be on the grid.
The18th of October 1994 former Team Lotus driver Martin Donnelly and Willie Green started testing with the cars again. Both Martin and Willie were filled with joy when they were drifting the car over the Donington tarmac. Green would eventually appear with the car again on the circuit the 22nd of October. While Martin would keep on testing and developing the car in the weeks to come. This was needed as the Formula Classic Championship would make it’s debut the 7th of May 1995 at Donington.
Most interesting news from this period is the intensive testing of the car at Le Luc in the southern of France. It was reported that seven “former” Formula One drivers were there to test with the Formula Classic cars. What I could find was that Martin Donnelly, Jean-Pierre Jarier (also rumoured to race) and Perry McCarthy tested with the car. The other four drivers stayed unknown during my research.
In the meantime, promoter for the championship Rupert Green didn’t believe it would take long before all the seats were filled. The prizemoney that was to be won was huge! For a victory, the driver would win 5000 pound, for a pole this would be 2000 pound and for the fastest lap 1000 pound. In total, the prize money would be 350.000 pound. However, there were a couple of changes going on in preparation of the season.
Where ARTEC first build the first prototype in 1993 it was now Don Herridge’s company that constructed the car. In early April 1995, there were no fewer than seventeen chassis in build. While another ten chassis were said to be built soon. Then there was the amount of races where it was first 12 rounds around Europe. This became now nineteen races! An exclusive seasonal lease deal was 130.000 pound a season, which seemed much.
The Formula Classic Championship had a slow start once it was announced in the autumn of 1994. Besides the amount of prizemoney, it seemed that the amount that had to be paid to race was too much for many. For the first race, some big names like Perry McCarthy, Geoff Farmer, Bill Shepherd and Austin Kinsella were invited to race during the first weekend. While David Hutchinson and Martin Donnelly did a “one-off”deal to race.
The first race of the Championship was held the weekend of 7th and 8th of May 1995 at Donington. Oh boy what a flying start of the championship it was! Reports state that the drivers were power drifting in their 50s style Grand Prix cars. While overtaking and wheel banging some drivers lost their nerves and spun during the race. Peter Hardman won the first race at Donington that took 12 laps. While Martin Donnelly won the second race, which meant this was his first victory since 1989 in the Formula 3000!
Results Race one (12 Laps): (I sadly don’t have all results)
1. Peter Hardman – 2. Bill Shepherd – 3. Mark Newman – 4. Paul Mather – 5. Perry McCarthy – 6. Dave Hutchinson. While Mark Newman had the fastest lap during the race 1.47,54.
Results Race two (12 Laps): (I sadly don’t have all results)
1. Martin Donnelly – 2. Mark Newman – 3. Patrick Trucco – 4. Peter Hardman – 5. Perry McCarthy – 6. Paul Mather – 7. James Prochowski – 8. Bill Shepherd – 9. Rick Hall – 10. Rob Gray. While Martin Donnelly had the fastest lap during the race 1.46,26.
The third and fourth race of the season would be held the 24th and 25th of June at Donington. Again, it was a great race where lots of things happened on the track. However, the first signs of unreliable material was visible. Therefore, it seems that the races were shortened by four laps each. The last race shown what the problem was. Seven of the Holbay engines that powered the cars started to malfunction during the race. Therefore, seven of the drivers had to retire from the race. This would be the main reason that the Championship was soon to be canned by Tom Wheatcroft.
Results Race three (8 Laps): (I sadly don’t have all results)
1. Peter Hardman – 2. Martin Donnelly – 3. Perry McCarthy – 4. Patrick Trucco – 5. Steve Parrish – 6. Ian Flux. While Peter Hardman had the fastest lap 1.47,46.
Results Race four (8 Laps): (I sadly don’t have all results)1. Peter Hardman – 2. Steve Parrish – 3. Perry McCarthy – 4. Ian Flux – 5. Patrick Trucco – 6. Robin Donovan. While Steve Parrish had the fastest lap 1.47,51.
In an early stage of the development of the Championship there seemed to have been hick ups with the Holbay engines. The quality seemed to be so-so while the preparation of the engines during the races was average. Main reason seemed the lack of proper funding, there were rumours stating that the company from John Read was near bankruptcy. The company went bust when John Read sadly passed away during a flying accident.
Interestingly though is the fact that the company acknowledge somewhat that the engines’ quality was lacking. It didn’t though that the engines were to be rectify for some unknown race or race series in China.
It is around this time that Tom Wheatcroft pulled the plug from the Formula Classic Championship. He investing approx. 1.6 million pound in this project since February 1993. However, he did not completely shut the door for the series. In an interview with Autosport (13 July 1995) he stated that he would resolved to regroup the Formula Classic. “Our commitment has been, and will be in the future, to operate a championship that gives all drivers equal machinery, thus ensuring the public sees close and exciting racing. But the driver is the key factor in the overall equation.” Tom stated as well that they were determinates to sort all the problems and re-present a much stronger and more exciting package in 1996.
The series went indeed back to the drawing board. However, it is unsure how much bread Tom still saw in the Formula Classic Championship. I can only recall the question I would ask myself for an eventual return. Were the car too bad and too ugly? Why did I not continue with the Vauxhall engines? Was the entry of 130.000 pound too much and should it be less?
For a while there was no new info, the last info was the fact that Tom Wheatcroft was working on a return of the Championship for 1996 or 1997. What I understood is that Mark Newman (ex F3000 driver) and Don Herridge convinced Tom. During the spring and summer of 1996, the cars underwent some changes; as well, the setup of the championship would change. All to benefit the drivers and make the series a viable option. Instead of the 130.000 pound, the price would be 60.000 pound for a whole season. This included hospitality and testing.
It’s the 11th of November 1996 when Tom Wheatcroft announces the return of the Formula Classic Championship for 1997. Due to the registration of the series this late in the year, it would not be an official Championship. However, Newman hoped at that time that they would may be used as support series of the FIA thoroughbred Grand Prix Series. Don Herridge was preparing 23 of the cars, indeed less than the 34 before, which would have their home base at Donington outside of race meetings in Europe.
There was another major change for the cars. The Holbay engines that canned the Championship were no more. Instead, there were Millington engines that were fitted with Cosworth YB heads. These engines seemed to be much more reliable and stable for the type of car the Formula Classic was racing. Besides the engines, there was another change in the series. Instead of 19 rounds in 1995, they chose to only do eight races in 1997. The first race of the season would be held in April 1997 at Barcelona. While the last race of the season would be somewhere in October at Donington. It seems that Zandvoort and the Nurburgring were also on the calendar. However, it seems that there was not a publication of the full calendar.
Let’s return back to that Monday the 11th of November because something special happened during the presentation or re-launch of the Formula Classic. On that day at Donington the car appeared again on the track to be tested. No one else then Stirling Moss tested with the car at Donington. It seems he was enthusiastic about the cars performance. Also Steve Parrish and Jamie Whitham (at that time a Superbike star) tried the car at Donington.
Only days later the cars would be tested again, this was mostly to decide who would supply the tyres. At that time, Dunlop and Avon were able to produce the tyres the championship needed. According to an advertisement in Autosport 12 December 1996, there were plans to test the car at Monza. It stated that the test days were to be held at Monza and Donington for drivers that were interested to race in the Formula Classic in 1997.
It seems that the official return of the series was during the 1997 Autosport International Show held from Friday 10 January until Sunday 12January. During the show there was somewhat of a race between the Formula Classics from Wheatcroft and the open-wheelers from Caterham. The same time some advertisements appeared in several magazines where the series was searching for mechanics and truckies.
However, after March 1997 it seems that no traces were left about the Formula Classic series. It seems that no attempt was made anymore to bring the series alive and race around in Europe. The series just simply vanished. The cars were stored in the basement of Donington only to collect dust for a couple of year. Some of the cars stood in the Museum while others somehow found their way in private hands. Eventually were all cars not that long ago separately sold to collectors.
I do believe that this series could have been a success, if they would have used the Maserati F250 as base for their cars. Perhaps even better used it as a clone and to brought the 1950s vibes back on the track.
